A study has shown that many young Batak Toba people living in Jakarta have lost a strong sense of ethnic identity due to the inevitable mingling of cultures in the capital.

Togar Nainggolan said the younger generation of Batak people born in Jakarta identified themselves as Jakarta-Batak people.

Togar was speaking during the launch of his book Batak Toba in Jakarta: continuity and identity changes, which is based on his doctoral thesis at Radboud Nijmegen University in the Netherlands.

The Batak are an ethnic group from North Sumatra.

Data issued by the Central Statistics Agency in 2000 showed there were 81,248 Batak families living in Jakarta.

“Sixty percent of the second generation of Batak people do not feel included within a Batak identity. They are Batak people but don’t consider themselves migrants to Jakarta. In their daily lives, and even at home, they don’t speak Batak languages anymore,” Togar said.

“The older generation, those who first settled in Jakarta, refer to themselves as Batak migrants, even though they have been living here for a long time. They continue to retain their traditions,” he said.

The study concluded that Batak Toba living in Jakarta had experienced some continuity, but also felt less affinity with their ethnic group than those who had stayed in North Sumatra.

“The continuity can be seen in the use of marga (family names) and their attendance at church.

“Poor families adhere to traditional practices and, for them, the family network is important to survive in the capital, while the richer Batak tend to simplify their traditions,” he said.

The study focused on family networks, religion, culture and identity.

It surveyed 250 Batak people living in five areas of East Jakarta: Kayu Putih, Pulogadung, Rawamangun, Cawang and Cililitan.

It was limited to Batak Toba. There are six Batak subethnic groups: the Angkola, Karo, Mandailing, Pakpak and Toba.

WHAT ASHAME TO YOU BATAK.TALK BIG AND ACTION IS TOO LITTLE.LOOK AT YOU ..SHAME ON YOU.
DO ANY ONE REALLY CARE?….
Bataks Losing Identity: Jakarta, Indonesia
By Wombat | December 12th, 2006 | No Comments
I was saddened somewhat when I read the article in the Jakarta Post about the Batak people living in Jakarta seemingly losing their identity.

A study has shown that many young Batak Toba people living in Jakarta have lost a strong sense of ethnic identity due to the inevitable mingling of cultures in the capital.

Togar Nainggolan said the younger generation of Batak people born in Jakarta identified themselves as Jakarta-Batak people.

Togar was speaking during the launch of his book Batak Toba in Jakarta: continuity and identity changes, which is based on his doctoral thesis at Radboud Nijmegen University in the Netherlands.

The Batak are an ethnic group from North Sumatra.

Data issued by the Central Statistics Agency in 2000 showed there were 81,248 Batak families living in Jakarta.

“Sixty percent of the second generation of Batak people do not feel included within a Batak identity. They are Batak people but don’t consider themselves migrants to Jakarta. In their daily lives, and even at home, they don’t speak Batak languages anymore,” Togar said.

“The older generation, those who first settled in Jakarta, refer to themselves as Batak migrants, even though they have been living here for a long time. They continue to retain their traditions,” he said.

The study concluded that Batak Toba living in Jakarta had experienced some continuity, but also felt less affinity with their ethnic group than those who had stayed in North Sumatra.

“The continuity can be seen in the use of marga (family names) and their attendance at church.

“Poor families adhere to traditional practices and, for them, the family network is important to survive in the capital, while the richer Batak tend to simplify their traditions,” he said.

The study focused on family networks, religion, culture and identity.

It surveyed 250 Batak people living in five areas of East Jakarta: Kayu Putih, Pulogadung, Rawamangun, Cawang and Cililitan.

It was limited to Batak Toba. There are six Batak subethnic groups: the Angkola, Karo, Mandailing, Pakpak and Toba.

Gereja Punguan Kristen Batak, GPKB)
The Batak Christian Community Church was originally started by the former Batak people who had moved to Jakarta from the Batak land in North Sumatra at the beginning of the 20th century. They were not satisfied with the use of Malay and Dutch languages in church services, so they organized themselves to become a community worshipping, singing and praying in their original Batak language. The church was officially founded in 1927 under the name Batak Christian Community and became the Batak Christian Community Church in 1975. The GPKB’s headquarters are in Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia), where the majority of people are Muslims. It is a strategic place from where a wide network can be built to develop and empower the GPKB’s ministry in church and society. The doctrinal basis of the GPKB is derived from Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, and its forms of worship and other practices are in keeping with the Lutheran legacy.

Today the church has branched out to North Sumatra and has six districts of ministry. Since the general synod in 2002 it has a new spirit and vision of its mission, which is to participate more actively in the building of the kingdom of God. A new constitution and a new structure have been adopted, in order to improve the programmes of the church in the future. Three departments are responsible for Marturia, Koinonia and Diakonia. In this way the GPKB seeks to express the three aspects of the fundamental calling of the church and build an active and intensive ministry. It will continue to improve its mission to the Maya-maya people who have transmigrated to the Kubu area and who are keen to hear the gospel message. It also wants to reach the Batak Christian people who live in close-knit communities in the cities and do not have the opportunity to gather for worship in the church because they are poor and feel ashamed to join the others. Many of them also are facing difficulties in relation to Islam. In present-day Indonesia people are generally struggling with social problems due to the multidimensional crisis affecting the country: economic, political, legal, moral and cultural. In this context the GPKB faces the problems of human rights, environment, gender, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and interreligious conflict. Dealing with these problems is the challenge to the church at the present time. The GPKB maintains a particular relationship with the Lutheran Church of Australia.